"Hey Guy!"

Nico and I got re-sick this past week. Over the weekend my sore throat came back worse, with chills, fever, aches. Nico never had a fever, but his congestion got worse. We are still dealing with very stuffy noses and an occasional cough. And I have lost most of my voice.

We were still able to visit G.G. on Monday, though! After finding out that we had lost one of the pull-back cars that goes with the fabric garage that she made him for Christmas, she gave him 3 more! Nico also warmed up to Scamper a bit and actually petted him. 

On Tuesday Guy and I had conflicting appointments, so Grandma Salisbury came by to watch Nico for a few hours. She brought him a jack-in-the-box toy. It was actually a frog-in-the-box with a Sandra Boynton theme. Nico loves it! It looks like they had fun while we were gone, too :)

Tuesday night we went to Fred Meyer as a family and got some shopping done. New shoes and earplugs! 

Nico hit the sack early last night. He ate his supplements at the dinner table and then excused himself because he wanted to "take-a a nap-a". So we let him get into his bed, I tucked him in, and ZONK. He didn't wake up until 2 AM the next morning, when he crawled into bed with me and fell back asleep until 5:30. 12+ hours of sleep is the most he's had in a single night in a VERY long time. And today was a great day for him, only one time-out and was in a great mood most of the day! So Guy and I were trying to brainstorm how to get him to sleep more.

One more food added to Nico's repertoire. Sour cream! He did great with it today, so we will increase slowly. No visible rash on either end, and NO behavior changes after eating it! I was so surprised and so delighted, especially since he loved it and wanted more more more of it. I kept it to a modest spoonful, though, because I didn't want to overwhelm his system. The doc told us to buy Nancy's cultured sour cream, and also to try Nancy's cultured cottage cheese. When she told me to buy the cottage cheese that Nancy makes, I asked her who Nancy was, thinking she was their receptionist, before I realized that it's actually a brand name! :) So we bought Nancy's sour cream at the Co-op.

And here's a glimpse into our mornings. Nico took a picture of himself and you can see me in the background looking out the window, thinking I heard the bus.

One day last week, Nico realized that he could say "Guy" and get Guy's attention. After Guy went to bed in the morning, Nico walked into the living room and called "Hey Guy! Hey Guy!" And of course Guy tumbled out of bed and ran into the living room to see Nico, because it was just too darn cute not to. We both had a good chuckle. It reminded me of a story my Mom tells about my older brother Jeremy as a youngster, barely learned to talk, called out to them both: "Heeeey Dick! Heeeey Dot!"

Not much else to report this week!

Elimination Diet, and the Sickies

On Friday Guy took a half-day at work so that he could watch Nico while I went to a women's conference called "Dare to Be". Charlotte Gambil spoke, and Natalie Grant sang songs. It was a great time!

On Saturday, a comedy couple called Barnes and Miner came to our church and had a comedy show. Childcare was provided, so all of us went. Jonny and Alanna and Wanda (and Lexie) were also there. We all laughed! Guy said it was better than he thought it was going to be. I caught him laughing out loud a few times :)

Guy officially started his elimination diet last Thursday. He ran out of coffee last Tuesday, though, so he has been without coffee now for more than a week. He had some withdrawal - headaches, body aches, fatigue, and then we all caught a cold or a mild flu. Because our doctor had told me to keep track of mine and Nico's pH (with little pH strips that you buy at the health store), I was well aware that we were all getting sick a few days before it started. The doc told us that if our pH goes way up for a few days then you know that you are about to get sick. We were able to take preventive measures, and it did seem to lessen the blow for all of us. Nico only missed one day of school, and no one had any fevers. I think Guy got the worst of it, unfortunately. He was able to leave work early last night to come home and get some more rest. He had also worked overtime on Sunday and Monday.

On Tuesday I taught another essential oils class while Nico was in preschool. I sure do love talking about essential oils! It was a lot of fun.

Then on Tuesday night after bedtime, Jeff and Allicia came over to hang out again. Guy made them all some coconut ice cream, which was very well received. Coconut milk, honey, and vanilla flavoring, turned into a frozen treat via the Donvier.

The one picture I took this week was taken today right before Guy went to work. It's so cute that I'm sure it makes up for the lack of other pictures :)

Foods

On Monday we went over to see Allicia and Evie and Avery. We hung out in their garage (heated!) Nico got to ride on Evie's tricycle and there was also a sand box to play in.

Evie loading up the tricycle so Nico can ride it.

Monday was also mine and Guy's anniversary. It was actually Facebook that reminded me of it! And even after that, I forgot to mention it to Guy, who also forgot. I didn't wish him a Happy Anniversary until the next morning. Whoops! :) No biggie, though, we are buddies and we understand that life is busy. It has been 8 years!! 

Tuesday, while Nico was at school, I went with Allicia and Evie and Avery to a "Mothering Connections" meeting. A group of moms gets together and talks about all the things related to mothering. To offer support and to receive support if needed. It was very cool.

We had some warmer days this past week. Enough to go for a looong Strider ride, a trip to the Fish Park, and then a walk around the block. Not all on the same day:) Nico has been talking a lot about playing outside. "Play outside. Go Strider ride." We've already come up with a list of things to do this summer. Well, a two item list: Fly a kite (we have one sitting in our closet that we've never used) and shoot off a rocket. We'll expand the list as we think of things. We do have a long term list of things we want to do but not necessarily this summer: go for a train ride, go to the beach and build a sand castle, fly in a plane.

Building a tower with Daddy before breakfast.

Playing outside. Digging a HOLE!

Yesterday (Wednesday), we hit a milestone in that I experienced my very first call from the school to come pick Nico up because of illness. Apparently he was lying down on the floor in the classroom and when they took his temperature it was 101.4. I came and picked him up, and as soon as we got home he crawled onto the couch and fell asleep. He woke up for about an hour and told me he felt sick. I rubbed some essential oils on his tummy, he fell back asleep for another hour and when he woke up in his bed he popped up and started asking for food. He burned off his fever last night and woke up fine this morning. I kept him home from school, but he will go back tomorrow. I'm pretty sure this episode was food related (well, supplement related). We have been introducing many new foods into his diet recently, per doctor's orders "Expand his diet!" she said :) He has enjoyed oatmeal, quinoa, cream of buckwheat, eggs, chicken, tomatoes, potatoes, brown rice, carrots, onions, and tonight: salmon! He ate more than I did at dinner. Unfortunately we are still dealing with bad flares of his rash and his emotions, but we are pushing through. But back to this fever thing. He was perfectly fine Wednesday morning until after he ate his supplements. It was almost like he was a robot that had just been turned off. You can imagine the power down sound, as he slumps his shoulders in his high chair and says "no eat", crawls onto the couch, and asks for a nap. This had been happening on several mornings, so I didn't think it was any different. But I think he reached his threshold for one of the supplements that hadn't been agreeing with him. I will be talking to the doc tomorrow to see what she wants us to do.

This week in preschool they are reading "Snowmen At Night" by Caralyn Buehner, "Snowballs" by Lois Ehlert and "That Hat" by Jan Brett. They are learning about winter clothing and animals. And tomorrow is the end of the quarter, so they have an early release!

Back to School!

Gma Salisbury and Nico had a blast hanging out on Friday morning while I was at my doctor's appointment. They apparently played this particular game for quite some time. You can see them play it in the video I posted below.

Nico's cousins, Kai and Lily, came over that morning, too, and they all had a blast listening to animal sounds on Gma's iPhone. Nico was getting a kick out of it, and was imitating whatever Gma would say and do. 

Nico's Aunt Bambi and other cousin Karli came over soon after, and I made everyone a Full English Breakfast. 

Fried eggs, sausage, bacon, fried mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, fried bread, baked beans, and english breakfast tea with milk. Traditionally it also has black pudding (blood sausage) but I wasn't able to find any. I made the same thing for Guy the next day. Guy asked specifically for this meal, as we are soon embarking on a food elimination diet for him (once we run out of all the old food), and he put in a couple requests for meals he wanted before the diet begins. French toast, Monte Cristo, lots of sandwiches with various cheeses and meats (sausages mostly), and a Full English Breakfast. 

Evie's birthday party was on Saturday at "Just Kiddin' Around", a play place for kids. I had never been there before but I think that Nico and Guy both have. Nico spent most of the time at the train table, which was really cool! The place has a bunch of comfy couches for parents to lounge on while watching their kids. We sang Happy Birthday, ate some raisins, and came home with a cool butterfly mask as a party favor.

Nico went back to school on Tuesday after 2 weeks off. He was very very excited. This week they are learning about winter clothing and snowmen. And the letter "K".

On Wednesday morning I drove Nico to school instead of him taking the bus. There was so much snow on the ground that his bus got stuck somewhere (which they told me later). I called up and told them I would just take him in.

He is getting to be such a talker. He has been trying to talk along with the cartoons that he has memorized. And a new cartoon he has found - Pinky Dinky Doo. It's a girl who makes up stories for her little brother, the animation style is different and it's a lot of fun. Guy said he's really impressed with it.

Now for a VIDEO! This is a snippet video for Fall/Winter but it does NOT include Christmas. I will do a separate video of Gpa and Gma Russell's Christmas visit. As of right now there are 10 more minutes of processing before the video is available, so if it says the video is unavailable, that is why!

Whoops, where are the pictures?

This must be the lost week, because I forgot to take pictures! I did think to take a quick one today while we were at the doctor's office, so here is Nico playing with his Christmas gift from G.G. at the doctor's office this morning.

We saw Allicia and Avery and Evie twice this past week. They came over once and we went over there once. Tuesday was Evie's 3rd birthday, so we brought her a present and had a play date. Her birthday party is on Saturday, so we'll be celebrating with her then, too.

Monday we went up to the cabin to spend time with the Grandparents Salisbury. We ate lunch there and had a great time chatting and playing. 

Today both Nico and I had doctor's appointments to get ourselves checked out and get some advice and direction for dealing with food sensitivities and digestion issues. I am certain that very soon we will both be able to expand our diets!

Tonight Nico and I are staying with the Grandparents Salisbury. We sure do love hanging out here!! Tomorrow morning, we will go into town and Grandma Salisbury will watch Nico while I go to my other doctor's appointment. Getting all our health stuff taken care of!

Wow, what a short episode! Next week I hope to post a snippet video. In all truth I was hoping to do that for today, but didn't get around to it. Next week Nico starts back to school and I will try to remember to take more pictures :)

Until then...